Friday, November 25, 2016

Health literacy Can Be a Matter of Life or Death

The basic ability to read is
essential in looking after one’s health, especially when managing a chronic
illness that requires various treatments and medications. It is estimated that
patients with low health literacy cost anywhere fromUS
$106 billion to $238 billioneach year in the US alone, which
equates to roughly 10% of the healthcare budget. In the UK, it’s estimated that
the financial cost of low health literacy is3% to
5%of the yearly NHS budget.

Health
literacyis defined as the degree to which a person has the capacity to
obtain, process and comprehend health information in order to make decisions
about their own health. Around75% of health
informationis written at a high school to undergraduate reading level.

This presents serious problems – take the US for
example, where the average reading ability of adults is between grade 8 and 9,
with around a quarter of adults reading at agrade
5 leveland below. In England, the current research shows
thatapproximately
43% to 61%of English working age adults regularly experience problems
understanding health information.

As a result, most healthcare information is written
at a level more advanced than the reader’s ability. Imagine the anxiety caused
by not understanding what your doctor has said, or by being puzzled by your
prescription, all with the knowledge that your health is at stake. Or if you’re
a parent and making the health decisions for your child, that you could end up
making a mistake that puts them at risk.READ
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